Southwestern Black Bean Salad

Eating healthy and clean has it's up and downs (actually a lot of downs if you are a sugar junky). For  me, I struggle with not snacking at night and finding the proper things to snack on. For Jesse, he's struggling with finding the right things to eat for protein, as we no longer eat red meat or high quantities of white meat anymore. He hates beans. That's one way we're totally different because I LOVE beans. I always have. I could eat beans, of any variety, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. My favourite bean? Black beans. So, it's not surprising to anyone that southwestern food is my favourite type of food. Chili, tacos, you name it, I love it. I'm also an avid fan of cilantro, which not many people are into either. 

For now, I've just been feeding Jesse and Cherie as much chicken as they can stand, but, eventually they're going to have to start supplementing for protein. The plus side to all this is that when I make awesome salads like this Southwestern Black Bean salad, I don't have to share! And believe me, I never let any go to waste. It's a delicious salad that tastes too good to be true, but, it's actually so good for you! It's gluten, dairy, nut free, vegan and packed full of important nutrients. Try it for yourself and let me know what you think! 

Southwestern Black Bean Salad

Salad

1 can of black beans

1/2 cup frozen or fresh corn

1 bell pepper, any colour

1 tomato (or 4 cocktail tomatoes or 1 cup cherry tomatoes)

1/3 cup green onion

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Dressing

1 lime with zest

1/4 cup cold pressed extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic

1 tsp chili powder

pinch of chipotle powder

sea salt to taste

black pepper to taste

Open the beans and pour them in a colander. Strain and then rinse them, until bubbles stop appearing. Let them drain again while you prepare your veggies. Defrost your corn at this point as well, if needed. 

Dice your peppers into the same size as your beans. This can preferably be a red pepper, but I used half an orange and half a red one, for colour. Same goes for the tomato, dice into small cubes, and can be any kind of tomato. I used heirloom cocktail tomatoes for extra colour (plus yellow tomatoes are amazingly tasty), but you can use whatever you have on hand. 

Chop a green onion and a bunch of fresh cilantro. You can choose to take the leaves off and discard the stems but it's really not necessary. I freeze my herbs because I can't seem to get them to last long in the fridge, and that's why my cilantro isn't vibrantly green, but its still packed with flavour. Toss together in a bowl and let marinade with beans and corn while you make your dressing.

In a small bowl, combine olive oil, the juice of one lime (should be about 2 tbsp) and if you have a fresh lime, zest it for extra flavour. Finely mince your garlic and add it to dressing. Add chili and chipotle powder, sea salt and pepper. Feel free to add more to taste once you've mixed the salad together, but, I like it less spicy so I don't add very much chipotle. Pour into bean and veggie bowl and toss until well coated. Taste and add more spices if preferred. 

Store in refrigerator for a couple days, but I assure you it won't last that long! Tastes even better the next day. Serves 4 (or 1 very hungry vegetarian).

xo Amber